Raila orders release of man who stole goods from Naivas

ODM leader Raila Odinga has called for the unconditional release of Alvin Chivondo, a Kenya who has been sentenced to one year in jail for shoplifting.

Chivondo was, in the alternative, fined Sh100,000 by the court for shoplifting goods worth Sh3,165 from a Naivas supermarket.

The goods included 5kgs of rice, 5 litres of cooking oil and 2kgs of sugar.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Raila called for Chivondo to be released unconditionally.

"Let Alvin Linus Chivondo be released unconditionally! Criminals are now getting a reprieve to campaign freely, while petty offenders are being jailed," Raila said.

His remarks were in reference to a decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions to suspend all corruption charges against governors and members of parliament until after the August polls.

In an exclusive interview with the Star, the DPP Noordin Haji handed politicians a major reprieve slammed brakes on their prosecution over graft until after the electioneering period.

"We don’t want to be accused of making decisions based on political leanings,” Haji said.

Raila somewhat accused the courts of acting out of sync with the prevailing economic situation in the country when sentencing Chivondo.

The cost of living has skyrocketed in Kenya with prices of commodities like cooking oil, bread and sugar hitting the roof.

"Let the courts get their priorities right, for once, you can't jail a man for trying to feed his family," Raila said. 

His remarks elicited reactions online, with majority of Kenyans urging the former Prime Minister to consider paying the fine on behalf of the convict.

Among them was lawyer Nelson Havi.

"It would have been legally prudent and helpful for Raila Odinga to have paid the fine of Kshs 100,000.00 on behalf of and settled the needy young man in a paying job instead of unjustly castigating the Magistrate who issued a lawful sentence or belittling the judicial process," Havi said in a tweet.